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Herbert's gaining of the title Dundee Makar (or City Laureate) inspired him to write about his hometown in a way authentic to its parlance and dialect. This project was unexpectedly shaped during the writing process by the passing of Herbert's father, and by the encroachment of a new intolerance in the political landscape.
About the author
W.N. [Bill] Herbert is a highly versatile poet who writes both in English and Scots. Born in Dundee, he established his reputation with two English/Scots collections from Bloodaxe, Forked Tongue (1994) and Cabaret McGonagall (1996), followed by The Laurelude (1998), The Big Bumper Book of Troy (2002), Bad Shaman Blues (2006) and Omnesia (2013). His latest collection, The Wreck of the Fatherland, is publshed by Bloodaxe in 2020. He has also published a critical study, To Circumjack MacDiarmid (OUP, 1992) drawn from his PhD research. His practical guide Writing Poetry was published by Routledge in 2010. He co-edited Strong Words: modern poets on modern poetry (Bloodaxe Books, 2000) with Matthew Hollis, and Jade Ladder: Contemporary Chinese Poetry (Bloodaxe Books, 2012) with Yang Lian. Bill Herbert is Professor of Poetry and Creative Writing at Newcastle University and lives in a lighthouse overlooking the River Tyne at North Shields. He was appointed Dundee's first Makar in 2013. Twice shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, his collections have also been shortlisted for the Forward Prize, McVities Prize, Saltire Awards and Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award. Four are Poetry Book Society Recommendations. In 2014 he was awarded a Cholmondeley Prize for his poetry, and an honorary doctorate from Dundee University. In 2015 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Summary
When Bill Herbert was made Dundee Makar (or City Laureate), he intended to write about his home town in both its native tongues. Then within six months his much-loved father died, and that civic idyll was thrown into crisis. This is his Dundonian Book of the Dead, in which he explores both his own grief and the encroachment of a new intolerance.
![W. N. Herbert, W. N. [bill] Herbert, W.N. Herbert - The Wreck of the Fathership](https://blob.cede.ch/books/138000000/138992000/138992898_17.jpg?v=3)